News - National
Home construction up, building permits fall
Posted: May 18, 2010 9:22 AM by Bea Karnes, News First 5
Updated: May 18, 2010 9:22 AM
Construction of new homes rose more than expected in April, but new building permits fell sharply, signaling that the building industry's rebound could be short-lived.
The Commerce Department says construction of new homes and apartments rose 5.8 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 672,000. The results were the highest since October 2008 and were driven by a 10 percent increase in the single-family market.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected construction to rise more modestly to a rate of 650,000.
Building permits, a gauge of future activity, sank 11.5 percent to an annual rate of 606,000, the lowest since October 2009. Analysts were expecting a slight dip to a rate of 680,000.
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